The Social Impact of Oil: The Case of Peterhead

The Social Impact of Oil (1982) examines how the town of Peterhead in the UK, hitherto a remote fishing port, was changed by North Sea oil. It looks at the wheeling and dealing that went on between property speculators, multinational companies, local government and municipal bodies, as well as discussing the clash of city money and small town as well as the practical problems of the labour market, housing and planning. It analyses the way the town changed, the advantages oil brought, often unintentionally, as well as the many challenges.